July 14, 2006 continued from Part Two...

We got back to our room around 11 pm. I was getting Georgia ready for bed and decided to tickle her. She started to half-smile. I was so excited! I kept tickling her and blowing on her tummy. She went from smiling to laughing. I was in heaven! What a beautiful sound it was to hear my sad little girl laughing! I wanted it to last forever. I felt so happy and relieved. Up until that point, she was very withdrawn and unresponsive. We were afraid something wasn't quite right with her, but when she laughed--I knew she would be ok. Oh! It was just the sweetest sound!

Tim took photos while I played with her. I didn't want to stop tickling her. It was so much fun to watch her eyes dance and hear her deep laugh. That night in bed, she cuddled up to me and stroked my leg. My heart just about burst into a million pieces, I was so full of joy.

Talley likes to sleep on my chest and tummy. If I move her off, she will whimper, and then crawl right back on me and go back to sleep. Claire was like that, too.

Talley turned out to be very much a "mama's girl" today, much to Tim's chagrin. She will go to Tim, but follows me with her eyes and the second I am free to hold her, she will whine to be in my arms.

The other good thing that happened today was getting approval to move Georgia to Talley's orphanage!

Each hour it gets harder to come to terms with the fact that we aren't taking our girls home with us. It is terribly painful to think about and it makes me sick to my stomach and very emotional. It is going to be a very long year.

Continued...